Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Nikki Jean studied theatre before moving to Philadelphia and joining the band Nouveau Riche as lead singer. She gained major recognition for her contributions to Lupe Fiasco's  "Hip Hop Saved My Life", and other songs from Grammy-nominated album, The Cool, before going on tour with Kanye West (Glow In The Dark Tour, 2008) and Mayer Hawthorne (A Strange Arrangement Tour, 2009). Nikki Jean co-wrote songs with Bob Dylan, Burt Bacharach, Lamont Dozier, Carly Simon and more, for 2011's Pennies in a Jar, before going on to release 2013's X-Mas EP and 2014's Champagne Water EP. She's also appeared on Brother Ali's A Bite Marked Heart (2012), and Lupe Fiasco's Tetsuo & Youth (2015).

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